A Storm Blew in a Sorceress
by Artistic Ane
Summary: One stormy night, the castle of Enchancia receives a midnight visitor, who seems to be in a desperate need for magical help. What has happened to her? Who can help her? Or rather, who will? Join Rebecca Scott, sorceress, as she struggles to find the one person who might be able to aid her.
1. A Midnight Visitor

It was late at night, and Baileywick was still awake. He would retire soon, but a freak storm appeared out of nowhere only moments ago, and he was rushing to assure himself that all the palace windows were securely shut. With the moon and stars completely covered, the castle halls were very dark, and the steward had to raise his candelabra high to achieve maximum light.

After checking the final room, the kitchen, Baileywick turned to finally go to bed, when a frantic knocking sounded on the side entrance. The castle steward was surprised; who would come to visit so late at night? Normally, the knocking would have been unheard, and using this logic, Baileywick was _almost_ tempted to ignore the visitor and simply retire for the night. But, of course, his good heart would not allow him to ignore someone who might be in need. Especially on a night such as this.

The knocking turned into panicked banging by this time he crossed the room. He quickly unlocked the door and opened it wide, saying, "Who's there?"

"Please, may I come in?" a feminine voice begged, gasping for breath.

Baileywick raised his light higher, and the candles illuminated the porch nicely, revealing a tall, drenched woman huddling forward. Straight, orange hair was plastered to her light skin, and her filthy, mud-ridden robes dripped into puddles by her equally dirty boots. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide with fear, and silently added to her vocal plea.

"Of course, Miss," Baileywick genially answered, stepping aside to allow her through.

At the first syllable, the woman rushed forward, as if chased by something. The moment she left her spot on the porch, a bolt of lightning crashed where she was previously standing. Baileywick could only stare in shock at what a close call his new guest had before she threw her back against the heavy door, slamming it shut.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he worriedly asked, noticing she still hugged herself and shook. He was uncertain if she trembled out of fear or cold.

"Please," the lady gasped, "may I use your fireplace?"

"Of course, you may, Miss," the steward assured. "Allow me to build you a fire."

The stranger shook her head. "I can't wait. I can handle it." Walking quickly toward the cold hearth, she shoved a shaking hand into one of her large sleeves, and pulled out a wand. " **Ignem accende!** " she cried, pointing the magical tool at the empty fireplace.

Immediately, bright, warm flames were conjured, flooding the room with light and heat. The woman crouched down, and opened the front of her robes a little.

"There you go, Rowena, warm up," she said, softly.

A small, dark, reptilian head slowly poked out from inside the robe, and a forked tongue flicked out a few times, before a long, banded snake slowly slid out and curled up as close to the fire as it dared. The woman sighed in relief as she stood up to face a flabbergasted Baileywick.

"Thank you so much, sir," she said with a small smile and grateful eyes. "I don't really have enough heat to protect her for very long, and I can't conjure fire outside in this weather." She lifted her wand again, and pointed it at herself, incanting, " **Exiccant.** " Sky blue sparkles, evidence of a spell, flew from the tip of her wand, and circled around her. Seconds later, she stood before the steward as dry as a summer field. He noticed that she had a wide streak of purple down the right side of her hair. She placed the wand back into her left sleeve, and took one step closer to her rescuer. "Sir, may I ask one more favor?"

Baileywick snapped out of his stupor at seeing competent magic and then a snake in his kitchen. "Well, that would depend on the favor, Miss…?" he trailed off expectantly.

"Rebecca," the sorceress supplied.

"Well, delighted to meet you, Miss Rebecca, I am Baileywick, the castle steward."

"Enchanted, sir. And I only ask that Rowena and I stay here for the night. I promise you, we will leave before anyone comes in to use the kitchen. No one will see either of us."

Baileywick took out his pocket watch to check the time. It was well after midnight, and the kitchen staff will be waking within five hours to prepare breakfast. "Are you sure about that, Miss Rebecca?" he asked. "You wouldn't be able to get much sleep if you did that. I could lend you a room until you're well-rested. Or perhaps until this storm lets up."

At that moment, lightning crashed again, and thunder roared, causing the both of them to jump a little. Rebecca bit her lip before shaking her head. "That's nice of you, but I shouldn't stay long. Unless…" she trailed off a little, before asking hopefully, "Is Goodwin the Great still the royal sorcerer here?"

Baileywick shook his head. "I'm sorry, he retired many years ago. He now resides in Mystic Meadows."

Rebecca looked a little down, but unsurprised. "Yeah, I figured it was too much to hope for. That's where I'm going now. I need to ask him something important. And the sooner I get there the better. Thank you for your offer, but we're used to little sleep. We'll just rest a bit and then be on our way."

Baileywick watched as his guest returned to the warmth of the fire, before glancing back at the downpour outside. "Well, then let me at least lend you some warmer clothing, to better protect the both of you."

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that," Rebecca protested.

"I insist," replied the gentleman. "If you will not permit me to give you a proper room, then I shall accept that, but I cannot allow a lady to travel in this atrocious weather without the appropriate traveling garb. If you will wait right here, I shall return shortly."

Before the sorceress could protest anymore, Baileywick turned on his heel and left the room. He was certain that he had a spare hooded cloak in his bedroom, as well as a scarf he could lend. That might be enough to keep both the young woman and her cold-blooded companion warm enough. At least until the storm lets up.

Once he reached his room, he opened the chest at the foot of his bed. Before long, he had found a dark green traveling cloak, and a thick, woolen, dark red scarf. He quickly returned to the kitchen, only to find that the sorceress had already fallen asleep, sitting against the wall near the fireplace. Under the watchful eye of the curled snake, Baileywick silently folded the garments, and placed them next to Rebecca.

"Good luck, and good night, Miss Rebecca," he whispered, before returning to his room, finally able to go to bed.

Rowena, the Blue Krait, sighed in content as the flames warmed her scaly body. "Beca, _must_ we go back outside? I really don't think I can't stand that weather any more!"

Rebecca groaned sleepily. "Yes, Ro. I'm so sorry, but there's no way you can stay here alone, and I've _got_ to find him. He's the only one I feel comfortable telling about this."

"But what if Goodwin can't answer you?" Rowena asked. "They've never had the best of relationships."

"Well, then Winifred should know. Oh, I'll never forgive him for not keeping his promise!" the sorceress angrily added.

"Even if he ends up doing what you ask?" the serpent slyly asked.

"Shut up, Ro," Rebecca said with a smile. "I'm trying to be upset here."

With another sigh, Rowena slithered up to her companion, resting in her lap. "Rebecca, it will be okay," she assured. "You won't be like this forever."

Rebecca smiled sadly as she stroked the tiny head. "Thanks, Ro. I'm sorry it's so hard on you. But you're right. We'll beat this. We just have to find him."

"We will. Now, let's sleep. I don't care what you told that guy, I don't like getting only a few hours worth of rest."

"Good night, Rowena."


	2. A Ruined Reunion

"Ruined! It's all ruined!" Cedric moaned. "Wormy, _why_ didn't you wake me up?!"

" **Believe me, I tried,** " the raven muttered, even though his companion could not understand. " **You sleep like a log, Cedric**."

Cedric groaned. It appeared that this was going to be a long day as well, and it certainly did not start off right. After the fiasco that was King James yesterday, Cedric went to bed early that night, planning on waking early to work on a few potions and spells. However, last night he had left the window in his tower open, and the strange storm that had randomly appeared completely soaked the scrolls he had written, and knocked over his cauldron. Now, he'd have to start all over again from scratch!

The royal sorcerer glared at the sunshine that now streamed through his open window, cursing the warmth and clear sky. It seemed that the storm had moved on, leaving hardly a trace of its existence. The sun had already dried up any leftover raindrops.

"How odd that no one was able to predict that storm," Cedric mused. "And the fact that it's gone so quickly... Has someone been magically messing with the weather, perhaps?" He shrugged his question aside. Not every strange conundrum was the product of magic, after all. Just usually.

He glanced back outside, and his eye caught sight of King Roland, in the gardens. He appeared to be coaching Princess Sofia and Prince James in the obstacle course. The princess was not doing very well.

He gave a sigh. "Oh well, let's just get to it then, hmm? I hope I can remember exactly how I did everything. I shall tolerate no distractions today."

Needless to say, Cedric was very peeved when, later, a purple kitten, that pesky rabbit, _and_ Wormwood began causing a ruckus in his tower.

WWW

"That was a good game, Amber," King Roland the Second said kindly as he picked up the magical birdie. "You really tried your best."

"Thanks, Daddy," Princess Amber giggled. "I always try my best. But I know that you went easy on me."

"That's a father's job, dear," he laughed. Suddenly, something in the sky caught his eye. "Oh dear. I'm afraid we'll have to move inside soon, Amber. I don't like the looks of those clouds over there."

"Clouds? But it's so warm right now," Amber protested. However, once she looked toward where her father was frowning, she saw the giant wall of dark clouds, rumbling and flashing. "Well, that's all right, we can have our tea time right now, then. Right, Daddy?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so," Roland consented. "I hope Miranda and Sofia come back soon from the village."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Amber said, taking her father by the hand and dragging him back to the castle.

Once they were inside the palace, Baileywick came to greet them.

"Ah, sire," he hailed the king, "shall we return to our to-do scroll?"

"Erm, not quite yet, Baileywick," Roland said, not just a little relieved about his promise to Amber. "I have a date with a princess. Once we're finished, I'll send for you."

"Very good, sir."

As Amber continued to drag her father away, Baileywick pulled out his pocket watch, and saw that it was about the time for the cooks to begin preparations for dinner. Immediately, he began walking to the kitchen to make sure that they were doing just that. He glanced out the windows, and saw the clouds that he had noticed in the distance had reached the castle, and yet another storm buffeted the walls.

"How odd. Two storms sandwiching a warm, sunny day? Hmm…" A little bewildered, he continued his trek, occasionally inspecting the other servants' work, and fixing them up if they were not up to par.

Upon reaching the kitchen, he was pleased to see that Chef Andre had everything under control. But just as he was about to leave, somebody knocked on the side entrance.

One of the kitchen girls, Gwen, was about to go open it, but Baileywick gestured to her to remain at work, and he went to answer the door. Upon opening it, he saw Miss Rebecca once again, bundled in his cloak and scarf.

And looking rather upset.

"Why didn't you mention there was a _different_ royal sorcerer here?!" she shrieked over the wind. She shoved past him and started to remove her travel wear. After removing the scarf, Baileywick saw her snake slip into the top part of her robe, seeking the warmth that was taken from her.

The castle steward mutely closed the door, before saying stiffly, "Miss Rebecca, I apologize if I have caused you grief. However, last night, you had asked for the whereabouts of Goodwin the Great. I had assumed that meant you specifically wanted to see him, not just any old sorcerer."

"But is it not common courtesy to offer the knowledge that there was one around?" Rebecca angrily retorted, hanging up the two borrowed garments on wooden pegs near the door. She pulled out her wand from her sleeve, and chanted, " **Exiccant**. I mean, _honestly_ , do you know how _annoying_ it is to travel in this weather, and then learn that you had to do a complete one-eighty to get what you asked for?" Once her drying spell was complete, she replaced her wand and picked up the cloak and scarf, folding them neatly. She handed them to their owner, saying, "Thank you for letting me borrow these, they were very helpful. Now, could you please direct me to where Cedric, your royal sorcerer, resides?"

WWW

" _Two_ storms coming out of nowhere?" Cedric muttered, glancing at the rain pelting his closed window. "Now that's just preposterous. There has got to be some sort of magic at work here."

Before he could ponder on it anymore, though, a light knock sounded on his door. Cedric frowned. It sounded… different. That was not Princess Sofia's knock, and no one else ever did the act, so _who_ was coming up to his tower?

He stalked over to the door, and swung it open. Black feathers flew right into his face, dripping wet, and Wormwood was angrily squawking at him.

"Oh, there you are Wormy," Cedric drawled. "What were you doing outside in this weather?"

" **You closed the window on me, you imbecile**!" came the untranslated reply. " **I just** _ **know**_ **I've a cold from all that wind!** "

Cedric glanced at the puddle of water in front of his door, thanks to the open window that usually only allowed light at his stoop. He sighed. "I suppose I should clean all this up before someone falls down the stairs and breaks their neck," he muttered. He recited a spell that removed the danger, and was in the process of closing the window, when he heard voices coming up the winding stairs.

"I don't know, Ro," one of the voices was saying, "remember what happened last time? I don't think I want to…" The voice trailed away, catching sight of the lanky man in front of the open window.

"Beca?" Cedric whispered in disbelief, dropping his raised hands.

The woman smiled gently at him. "Hey there, Ced," she said softly. "It's been a long time."

"W-what are you doing here?"

Rebecca glanced to the floor, and tugged on her pale blue sleeve, before looking back up and replying in a small voice, "I need help."

Those three words snapped him out of his trance. With a frown, he turned and resumed closing the window. "Naturally," he said scathingly. "Of _course_ that's why you're here. Why else would _anyone_ come all the way up here?" He looked back at the sorceress, and saw that she was soaked and covered in mud. "You look terrible. Well, come inside, we'll get you out of those robes, and I'll see what I can do."

He gestured to Rebecca to follow him as he returned to his tower room. The sorceress stared at his retreating back with a look of confusion, and insult. Gathering the front of her skirt, she nearly stomped inside.

"What is your problem?" she demanded to know.

Cedric spun around, his face frozen in his what was now known as his usual scowl. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to ask you?"

"Is that any way to treat an old friend? Especially one in need?"

"Well, _old friend_ , this is how I treat nearly everyone who comes up unannounced, only to beg me for a spell. Now, what is you want?" He sat down at his desk, pressing his fingertips together, and taking great delight in how Rebecca opened her mouth only to silently close it again. "Come, come, out with it, I'm a very busy man."

"Okay, that does it."

Cedric sat straighter in his seat, looking around for the owner of the new voice. It sounded like it came from Rebecca, but it was definitely not her. The sorceress suddenly tensed, and gasped before shivering, as if shaking off a bad feeling. Before Cedric could ask what _that_ was about, a blue snake with black bands came slithering out from underneath Rebecca's skirt, and came toward him at a great speed.

"Merlin's Mushrooms, what is that?!" he cried, jumping up in his seat, raising his feet off the floor.

"Hmph, _rude_ ," the reptile replied. "Do you even know what she's had to go through to get to you? She could've gone to any powerful sorcerer, but she chose _you_! And all you do is condescend her, insult her, treat her like dirt? Not while I'm here, human!" The blue krait opened her mouth wide, releasing her fangs and pulling her head back.

"Rowena, no!" Rebecca cried, running the few steps to pick up her friend. "You can't just do that! Put them back! Now!"

Rowena glared at her companion, and with what appeared to be great difficulty, retracted her fangs. "You _know_ that's uncomfortable, if I don't release the venom."

"You shouldn't have taken them out in the first place," the ginger replied. "Apologize."

Rowena glanced at the royal sorcerer, still up in his chair, and now _his_ mouth was opening and closing silently. "No," she smirked, sliding up Rebecca's arms to settle around her shoulders, like a boa. "I won't. Not until he apologizes to you. _He_ shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

"It can _talk_?!" Cedric finally gasped. "How? How is that…?"

" _It_ is a _she_ , thank you very much," the krait replied. "And you can thank Beca for my linguistic capabilities."

Cedric tentatively stepped off his chair and slowly walked toward them. "Amazing," he whispered. "I've been working on a translating spell for Wormy for years now. How did…?"

"Take one step closer, sorcerer, and I won't let Beca stop me this time," Rowena warned.

"Ro!" Rebecca looked apologetically to Cedric. "Sorry, Ced, she's very protective. And please, don't ask how I did this, 'cause I can't tell you. It was a complete accident." She gave a sigh, and looked through the window at the falling rain. Her brown eyes hardened and she turned to look at her old friend with determination. "Well, thank you for inviting me in, and I'm sorry for wasting your precious time. I'll be leaving now, then."

The sorceress spun around and was about to leave when Rowena stopped her.

"What? No! No, you're _not_ taking me back out there when we've traveled so far for so long just to see _him_! Medusa's Mane, Rebecca, _he_ was the only one you said you'd talk to about this! You wouldn't even let Goodwin help you, and he practically knew everything the moment he saw you!"

"You went to see my father?" Cedric asked. Not that he was surprised, really; everyone preferred Goodwin the Great over Cedric the Trainwreck. Wait, though… ' _Did the snake say she wouldn't let him help?'_

"I only went to him to ask him an important question," Rebecca bit out, now angrily spinning to face him. "'Do you know where Cedric is?' Try to imagine my surprise at learning you are now the Royal Sorcerer to King Roland the Second of Enchancia."

Cedric frowned. "Yes, I suppose it must have been a shock to discover that bumbling Cedric inherited one of the most coveted positions in the lands," he sarcastically drawled.

"Oh, knock it off," Rebecca snapped. "The shock wasn't the fact that you got the position. It was that you never told me! Ced, why did you break your promise to me?!" she added furiously, taking a step closer.

Cedric fearfully took a step back. "P-promise?" he stuttered. He was bluffing. He remembered what he had said. The last time he had seen Rebecca this angry was when they were students at Hexley Hall. Her ire was not directed toward him at the time, but the memory still caused him to shiver. And to see her so angry at him… maybe pretending to forget his promise would cause her to be more forgiving.

But Rebecca was having none of it. She stepped even closer. "Don't tell me you forgot! There's no way I'll _ever_ believe that! You promised that you'd keep in touch! I must have sent you hundreds of letters, and you didn't reply to a single one! Why?" At this point, Cedric had backed into his desk, and Rebecca's face was really close to his, angry brown clashing with frightened gold. "Why?!"

"Well, why didn't you tell me that you were accepted at Castcraft?" Cedric angrily retorted, pushing against her forehead.

Rebecca frowned in confusion. "Accepted…? What?"

"You told me that you were going to apprentice under your uncle," he reminded her. "You said nothing about becoming a student at one of the most advanced colleges in wizardry!"

Realization hit the sorceress, and she took a step back, crushed. "You didn't even read it," she whispered. "You took one look at the return address, and you didn't read it. I see." Tears filled the brown eyes. "It's nice to know what our friendship meant to you after all these years, Cedric. I'm sorry I came. You probably wouldn't help anyway."

"Help with what?" Cedric asked. "Surely a student at Castcraft College could achieve nearly anything?"

"She's been _cursed_ , you fool!" Rowena yelled.

Rebecca flinched.

Cedric gawked. "Cursed?"

"She's been like this for _months_ , and she's been trying to contact you, and when you didn't answer, she tried to find you! I tried to tell her to ask someone else for help, but she _insisted_ on you! So we've been traveling for _weeks_! Hexley, Boartusks, even Magnolia's School of Magi, until she _finally_ had the sense to ask your father where you were! _He_ saw immediately that she was cursed, but she refused to tell him how and why, so he couldn't help, because she would only talk to _you_!"

"Ro…" Rebecca whispered, feeling betrayed.

"No, Rebecca! You're going to sit down, and talk to him, because I _refuse_ to go out in that wretched rain again until you do!" The krait slipped off of her companion's shoulders and onto the floor, slithering underneath Wormwood's perch. "And as for _you_ ," she continued, glaring at Cedric, "you sit, listen, and if I don't like the way you speak to her, I _will_ bite. Rebecca, _sit._ "

"I liked it better when I couldn't understand you," Rebecca muttered sullenly.

"Blame the accident, woman, just as long as you listen to me."

Rebecca huffed before drawing her wand and conjuring a simple backless wooden stool. She sat down with her arms crossed, glaring at the floor. Cedric simply stared at his former classmate before sitting back down in his armchair. They sat in silence, until Rebecca spoke up.

"I was never a student at Castcraft, Cedric. If you had read my first letter, you would've known." She snapped accusing eyes at him, and he had the decency to look ashamed. "My uncle was a professor there, and he lived on the campus. As if one of the most prestigious colleges would accept _me_."

"Well, why wouldn't they?" Cedric asked.

"Do you not remember how lousy my Alteration skills are?" she responded. "Or how I'm merely adequate in everything else?"

"You managed to cast an Animal to Common spell," he pointed out, gesturing to the krait. "That takes a high level of skill."

"I've already said, it was an accident! I was trying to temporarily give myself the gift of tongues, the spell misfired, hit a prism, which dispersed the spell all over the room, and one of the things it hit was Rowena. It hasn't worn off, and I haven't been able to fix it."

"Not that I'm complaining," the snake muttered.

"What is this about a curse?" Cedric asked.

Rebecca's mouth twisted. "You know what? No." She stood up and began walking to the door a third time. "I'm sorry, Rowena, but I can't tell him anymore. He wouldn't care. Stay if you want, I won't force you to go out anymore. I'll be in the village for a while, and I'll come get you when I'm free. **Disappearo** ," she recited, pointing at her conjured chair. "Goodbye, Cedric." And she finally exited the room.

Rowena raised her head. "Rebecca, wait!" She glared at the royal sorcerer. "Don't just stand there, fool! Go after her!"

"And do what?" Cedric retorted. "If she won't tell me what's wrong, I cannot help."

"It's obviously hard for her to talk about! She was hoping that a dear friend would help her get through this! Clearly, she overestimated the value of your friendship."

A knock sounded on Cedric's door. Rebecca opened it and stepped in, a little red-faced. "Here." She tossed a small vial at the sorcerer, who caught it without thinking. "It's an antidote for Rowena's venom. It's rare, but sometimes she bites before she thinks. Krait venom is very painful."

Cedric stared at the vial before looking back up at his old friend. Tears leaked out of the brown eyes and fell onto the floor before she could hide them from him. She quickly turned and left once again. Cedric only gaped at where the teardrops fell, then out at the rain.

"Was she here last night?" he softly asked.

"Yes," Rowena answered.

"Does the weather have anything to do with her curse?"

"It has _everything_ to do with it."

Cedric thought back to one of their first days as students together at Hexley Hall. The little ginger, with her purple streak prominently displayed, had stood up from her desk and beamed at the class.

" _My name is Rebecca Scott, and I'm here to study magic because I want to learn how help as many people as I can! My favorite things to do are baking, and spending time in the sunshine!"_

Many of the students had laughed at her enthusiasm, and someone had called out, " _Doing what?"_

" _Anything, silly! I just love the warmth that both things give me!"_

"Merlin's Mushrooms…" Cedric groaned. "I've messed up."


	3. The Aftermath

Rebecca sniffled as she walked down the spiral steps, attempting to quell the tears. It was bad enough she got soaked every time she stepped outside, she did not need it inside as well. Besides, it would be so embarrassing if someone asked her what was wrong, and she did not want to get Cedric in trouble. Even if he was a jerk, and completely discarded their friendship like scrap paper.

The thought started up a new wave of tears.

"No, no, _no!_ " she angrily berated herself. "That's _enough_ crying! Knock it off!"

She scrubbed her face free of tears, and brushed her hair out of her face. She grimaced as she felt how filthy her hair was, and wished she could have the time for a bath. Instead, she conjured a hair tie, and did her best to smooth her hair down before gathering it in a rather messy bun. Her mother would be horrified, but it would have to do.

Now, the next course of action would have to be finding a different sorcerer she was comfortable with. Maybe Graylock? _He_ , at least, had kept his promise to keep in touch, and she knew exactly where he was. But, could she trust him to take this seriously? Even in their letters, his prankster ways from childhood shined through. And besides, she never felt as close to him when they were children as she did with Cedric…

Well, look at how _that_ ended up. Maybe their closeness was all in her head.

"Oh! You're new! What's your name?"

Rebecca snapped out of her zoning, and searched for the speaker. She did not have to look far; standing directly in front of her was a sweet-looking little girl, with soft brown hair, adorned with a pretty tiara, large, innocent, blue eyes, and wearing a light purple dress, decorated with pearls.

It was quite clear that this child was one of the princesses of the castle.

"Oh, your highness, forgive me, I wasn't looking where I was going!" Rebecca quickly said, curtsying deeply.

"Why are you apologizing?" the princess asked. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I didn't?"

"Not that I saw." The child peered at the sorceress more closely. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, I'm fine, your highness," Rebecca hurriedly assured. "No need to worry about me."

"Okay, if you're sure," the girl said. "I'm Sofia. Who are you?"

The sorceress smiled. "Rebecca."

"Did you just come down from seeing Mr. Cedric?"

At the name of the sorcerer, Rebecca's smile faltered. "Y-yeah, I did."

Sofia's face lit up. "Is he up right now? I wanted to ask him something."

"Um, I'm not sure if that's a good idea right now, princess. He might not be in the best of moods at the moment."

The child winced a bit. "Yeah, I was afraid of that. He didn't seem happy when I was up there earlier. I was hoping that he'd be better by now."

"Well, after our conversation, I don't think that's going to happen tonight," the sorceress informed.

"Oh no," Sofia cried, raising her hands to her face. "Did you two get in a fight?"

"Something like that," Rebecca said wryly. "He might be in a better mood tomorrow, if you want to try then."

Sofia looked a little crestfallen. "I suppose, then."

Rebecca's heart went out to the little princess. "Unless _I_ can help you with something. I'm not as powerful a sorceress as Cedric is a sorcerer, but I can still do some things."

"You're a sorceress?" Sofia excitedly asked. "Are you going to work with Mr. Cedric?"

Rebecca shook her head. "No, nothing like that. We used to be classmates. _Is_ there something I could help you with?"

"Oh, it wasn't so much a magic thing," Sofia explained. "I just wanted to know if he knew why it suddenly started raining, and if he knows when it will stop."

Rebecca nearly started crying again. Instead, she gave the princess her brightest smile, and said, "Well, luckily for you, I can answer that second question. I can promise you that tomorrow, you will have a bright, sunshiny day."

"Really? That's great! Thanks, Miss Rebecca!" Sofia gave the woman a tight hug. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Rebeca continued to smile as Princess Sofia skipped up the hall and turned the corner. "No, you won't, your highness." She probably thought that she was staying with Cedric for a while.

The sorceress morosely walked down the hall, opposite to where the princess had gone, looking for the kitchens again.

"Ah, Miss Rebecca."

Rebecca halted, and looked around. Baileywick was walking briskly toward her.

"I hope that Cedric was able to assist you," he said.

Rebecca smiled. "Yes, he was most helpful," she lied. No way was she going to make Ced look bad. "And since I'm not certain if he would tell you, I feel you should know, he's looking after Rowena for a while."

The tall man's face paled, and Rebecca quickly added, "She'll probably stay up in his tower, for the most part. As long as no one startles her, she's harmless."

"And if she's startled?" the steward asked faintly.

"I left an antidote to her venom with Cedric, just in case, but it should not come to that," she said firmly. "She just needs a break from me, and I'll be back for her before you know it."

"Are you leaving again?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes, I have quite a way to travel. And this weather usually slows me down."

"Surely, you can wait until it subsides," he insisted.

The sorceress firmly shook her head. "No, trust me, that is quite impossible. Thank you, again, for last night, and for directing me to Cedric's, but I should go now." She curtsied to the steward, and resumed walking toward her exit.

"Wait, Miss Rebecca!"

She turned around, a little irked. Honestly, could she not just leave? The sooner she was outside, the sooner the rain can mask her feelings.

"If you will not wait for the storm to pass, then perhaps you can wait until after you've eaten?"

Rebecca thought about it, but her stomach answered for her, with a loud growl. Blushing fiercely, she said, "That would be most appreciated, thank you, sir."

"Well, it is the least I could do," Baileywick smiled kindly, gently leading her to the kitchens.

WWW

Cedric had been pacing around his tower, still clutching the vial Rebecca had tossed him, and muttering incoherently for nearly ten minutes now. Rowena and Wormwood watched him go about in circles, one in disapproval and growing impatience, and the other in indifference.

"Yes, we get it! You've messed up!" the krait yelled out in exasperation. "Now instead of chasing your own tail, why don't you chase _her_ and beg for forgiveness? Judging by the storm cloud, she's probably still in the castle."

"Listen here, you reptile," Cedric turned on the snake, "I am a great sorcerer! I do not _beg!_ And why would I ask for that?"

"Are you serious?" Rowena asked. "You _do_ realize that you've seriously hurt Beca, right? She was actually looking forward to seeing you again, if anything to assure herself that you were still alive. Add to that the fact that she was absolutely certain that you'd help her with her curse-"

"Yes, about that," Cedric interrupted. "How in all the realms did _Rebecca_ , of all people, get a curse placed on her? She's never been one to upset people, and a curse of this magnitude, she must have seriously pi-"

"If you want to know what happened," Rowena cut in, "you'll have to ask her yourself. The circumstances were rather personal, and I'm not telling you anything."

"Well, blast it all, how am I supposed to help if I don't know what's going on?" the sorcerer angrily uttered.

Wormwood rolled his eyes. " **And now we're back where we started. Your turn, scales.** "

Rowena scowled at the raven. "You keep out of this, feather head, unless you plan to be helpful. And as for that ridiculous question, human, you. _Ask. Her._ Viper's Venom, how can I not stress this enough?"

"And just how would I do that?" Cedric threw his hands in the air. "I've messed up so badly, she practically _fled_ from me! I'm probably the last person she'd want to see right now. Plus, why on earth would she expect _me_ to be able break her curse?"

" **It's a fair question,** " Wormwood added. " **Surely there were other options?** "

"Because she trusted you!" yelled Rowena. "I've already said, the circumstances are very personal, and it's hard for her to talk about. Before this all happened, she'd _gush_ about you and Graylock, saying that you guys told each other everything when you were children-"

"Graylock?!" Cedric spluttered. "She'd write to _him?_ "

"Of course she would! And _he_ always replied!"

Cedric felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Rebecca's earlier accusation was dead on: he had recognized the insignia used on the scroll as the symbol of Castcraft College, and such jealousy and betrayal had filled him, that he promptly threw the letter into a fire. After that, any scroll sent by Rebecca was ignored and unanswered, until he had moved away from the Hexley dormitories to live in castle. Since then, he had heard nothing of his former classmate.

"I _told_ her that it'd be easier to just ask _him_ ," Rowena was saying, irritably rubbing her scales, "but the foolish woman refused to talk to anyone but _you_ , saying _you'd_ take it all more seriously, that _your_ power had always been greater than his, the two of you were closer than they." She hissed angrily. "Well, she must be feeling absolutely disgusted with herself, now, only imagining the bond you two had."

Wormwood cawed a bit, ruffling his wings. Rowena nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's possible, too. She _could_ be feeling disgusted at how easily you discarded that trust."

Cedric clenched his fists and threw whatever was in his hands into the fireplace. He angrily resumed his pacing, threading his fingers in his mismatched hair, barely registering that Wormwood had sped across the room for some reason.

Was it _his_ fault that Rebecca got cursed? Certainly not! Nor could he be blamed for her traveling all across the lands to find him. Surely, one would have normally taken the hint that he did _not_ wish to see her? After all, _she_ had betrayed him first! Even if she had not actually been invited to study at Castcraft, she could have told him that she would be staying there before she left!

Of course, if he had just read the scroll in the first place, maybe he would be more aware of what was going on in her life… And maybe given her advice to avoid to getting cursed, or at least let her know where he would be residing…

No. No, this was certainly not his fault, and he was not going to pretend it was just to insincerely apologize to see if he could possibly help an old friend!

"I am going to bed," he declared darkly.

Rowena lifted her head high. "And what about Rebecca?" she shrieked.

"She knows where Graylock is, she can ask him, since they seem to be so close."

Cedric practically stomped down to the lower level of his tower, where his bed was.

Rowena furiously rubbed her scales. "Foolish humans, and their _foolish_ pride!" she muttered.

Wormwood shook his head. " **Foolish, indeed.** "


	4. A Ray of Hope

Princess Sofia blinked open her eyes, and stretched in the rays of sunlight pouring through her window. Miss Rebecca was right; it seemed that today would be a bright, sunshiny day. She laid back on her pillows and thought about the stranger she met in the tower's stairwell. Even though Miss Rebecca had insisted that she was fine, Sofia still felt like she should have done something, because, clearly, she was not fine. With a nod of determination, Sofia shoved aside her covers, and quickly walked to her wash basin.

" **Good morning, Sofia!** " Robin and Mia chirped, flying into the room.

"Good morning, Robin, Mia!" Sofia cheerfully replied as she prepared her toothbrush.

As the two birds flew into Sofia's giant closet, Sofia brushed her teeth, before rinsing her mouth to wash out the morning taste. She gargled loudly as her avian friends returned with her favorite dress.

"Thanks, guys," Sofia said, taking the heavy garment from them.

" **Do you have anything special planned for the day, Sofia?** " Robin asked.

"Not particularly," was the answer. "I know that Amber has a ball planned for tonight, but she hadn't decided the theme yet. As soon as she knows, I was going to ask Miss Rebecca if she would like to help out."

" **Who?** " Mia inquired.

"Miss Rebecca. I met her last night. She's a sorceress, and an old classmate of Mr. Cedric's." Sofia bit her lip, and looked sad as she remembered their encounter. "It looked like she'd been crying. I think she and Mr. Cedric had a fight. I thought I'd cheer her up today, since I didn't last night and now I kinda feel terrible about it."

" **If she and Cedric had a fight, then are you sure that she'd still be staying here?** " Robin asked.

Sofia paused in slipping her dress on. "Oh. I hadn't thought of that. I guess I just assumed that she'd be staying in Mr. Cedric's tower."

" **Well,** " Mia began, " **it's still possible, right? I mean, aren't grown-ups usually more mature about fights? Maybe they've already made up.** "

Sofia beamed. "Maybe. I'll go see right now! Thanks, girls! I'll save you some seeds and nuts from breakfast!"

Sofia cheerfully skipped to Cedric's tower. Even if Miss Rebecca was not staying there, maybe Mr. Cedric would know where she was. Actually, maybe she could get him out of his tower! The royal sorcerer spent far too much time holed up in there. And Wormwood was not the best of company, even on his good days. Mr. Cedric definitely needed more human time.

Once she trekked up the spiral staircase, she smartly rapped upon the door at the top before walking straight in, not even thinking about whether or not the occupant would be awake.

The sunlight streamed cheerfully through the large windows, giving the lair a bright look, despite the 'organized chaos' about the desks and bookshelves. Sofia saw no sorcerer or sorceress in the room, only a dozing Woodworm on his perch.

The princess gave a sigh, before starting slightly; her sigh seemed to have echoed into a rasping sound! Glancing about the lair again, she saw a blue and black snake, coiled up in the sunlight pouring in from Cedric's ground floor window. It was rubbing its scales together, and looking very disgruntled. Suddenly, it zipped to the glass pane, and started repeatedly banging its head against it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sofia cried. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" She kept her distance from the snake a little, unsure whether or not it was venomous, or even friendly.

The little black head swiveled to face the princess. "Tell me," a feminine voice began, angrily, " _how_ am I supposed to enjoy this sunshine if she's not here to enjoy it with me?! Oh, it is _just_ like her to be so selfless that it makes it near impossible to be grateful for the sun that I haven't even _seen_ for months! Honestly, Beca, _how_ am I supposed to be happy here if you're not here and happy with me?! And _you're_ not freaking out about the fact that I can talk, what is wrong with you?!"

Sofia was certain that at any other time, she would have giggled at the last bit of rant, but at the moment, she was far too worried to find the scene comical. "Talking to animals is nothing new to me," she hastily explained. "But are you okay? Can I help with anything? Are you lost or something?"

The krait huffed. "I am _not_ okay, I _don't_ think you can help, and _I'm_ not the one who's lost."

Sofia fidgeted a little, not sure what to say. "I'm Sofia. What's your name?"

"Rowena," was the curt reply. Beady eyes glanced towards the princess. "I gotta say, you're the first princess I've met to not overreact to a venomous snake speaking Common."

"You mean, you're actually speaking Common right now?" Sofia excitedly asked. "So, anyone would be able to understand you? How did that happen? Did Mr. Cedric have a hand in it?"

"Wait… It sounds like you're saying that even I _wasn't_ hit with that spell, you'd understand me… How did that happen?" Rowena asked incredulously.

Sofia placed a hand on the purple jewel on her chest. "It's my amulet," she explained. "It's blessed me with the gift of speaking to animals."

"Huh. Well, that's rather… _convenient._ "

"'Convenient?'"

"Yeah, not many princesses can actually _hear_ animals," Rowena explained. "At most, they can just know what we're saying, but not really hearing our voices. At the top of my head I can only think of two, and even they couldn't hear _all_ animals, just a few species."

A rustle of feathers distracted the princess from asking for more information. " **Oh, joy,** " the sarcastic drawl began. " **Waking up to the wonderful prattle of chit-chatting females. I cannot imagine a more pleasant way to start the day.** "

"Yeah, yeah, good morning to you, too, Sleeping Beauty," the snake snapped. "How long is that sorcerer of yours going to lollygag in bed?"

" **Oh, it is far too early to tell,** " Wormwood replied. " **And he went to bed angry last night, so he will definitely not wake up in the best of moods.** " He eyed the princess. " **You had best leave before he wakes. I don't know how he will react to your… trespassing.** "

Sofia bit her lip. "Well, then maybe you can help me? Do you know where Miss Rebecca is staying?"

The blue krait suddenly resumed bashing her head against the glass. "That. Stupid. Sorceress! With. Her. Foolish! Pride! And. Stubborn. Ness!" she uttered with each knock.

"Whoa, Rowena, stop! You'll seriously hurt yourself!" Sofia cried.

" **Or break the glass,** " the raven muttered.

The snake shook her head a bit, before laying back, dazed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so upset about her," she explained.

"What happened?" Sofia gently pressed.

The reptile looked up at the princess. After seeming to have a mental debate with herself, she finally blurted, "Rebecca needs help, and she's left me here, even though I promised to stick with her through everything, and I don't know how to help her if I'm not _with_ her! And after all, just because I normally abhor the cold, it does not mean that I'm not willing to put up with it for her!" She finished her rant, gasping heavily.

"Wow. Is it that bad?" Sofia asked timidly, not even completely sure what was wrong.

"Little princess, you, quite literally, don't even know the half of it! And I really can't tell you for two reasons. One, it's not my story to tell. The whole thing is very personal for Rebecca, and plus the fact, I wasn't even there when it happened, so I actually _can't_ tell you! Two, from what little I know, you might be too young to fully comprehend what happened!" She paused a moment in her venting, before a determined glint showed in her beady eyes. "You know what? I'm gonna do it. I'm going to go _bite_ that jerk of a sorcerer. Or at least bug him until he agrees to help her."

"Wait!" Sofia cried, raising a hand. The snake halted, and turned to the little human. "Why did Miss Rebecca come here?"

The krait huffed. "Because she thought that her _dear friend_ , Cedric, could help her with her problem."

"Well, then surely, he can, right?" Sofia asked. "Mr. Cedric is a sensational sorcerer, and if it's a magic problem, I'm sure he can fix it."

Rowena shook her head with a scoff. "I have my doubts, little princess. I've yet to see proof of his sensational-ness, or even the greatness Rebecca promised me. In fact, all I saw was a cauldron full of foolish, human pride and stubbornness! Before he can help her, he needs to _listen_ to her, and that certainly didn't happen last night. 'Course, it didn't help that Rebecca was suddenly unwilling to talk, and after all that we've gone through. Because of her own, stupid, foolish…" She took a deep breath, and seemed to mentally count before continuing, in a much calmer voice, "All in all, last night was full of stupid mistakes and proud actions that could have easily been avoided if the two idiot sorcerers just sat and _talked!_ "

Sofia tried to wrap her head around what the snake was saying. "So, Miss Rebecca needs Mr. Cedric's help, but neither of them are even speaking to each other right now?" she summed up.

"That's putting it very simply, but yes," Rowena said.

"So, maybe the best way _you_ can help Miss Rebecca is to remind Mr. Cedric that there is someone he knows that needs _his_ help. But gently," she added. "If you only irritate him, he'd be too stubborn to actually want to help."

The krait looked at the princess skeptically. "And how sure are you that that would work?"

Sofia smiled. "Mr. Cedric is a great person, and he really _is_ a sensational sorcerer. But he's also rather… um, I can't really put a word to it, but… Sometimes, he doesn't like to show that he _can_ help, even though it'd be really easy for him."

" **Childish,** " Wormwood supplied.

"Foolish," Rowena added.

" **Ornery.** "

"Downright stupid."

"Yes, well," Sofia interrupted. "The thing is, maybe he just got too caught up in his 'tough-love sorcerer' act, and so he didn't actually think about how he might be hurting his friend. And I'm sure he's thinking of ways to help her as we speak."

Sofia glanced outside, and noticed that sun had crept rather high in the sky. "Oh no!" she cried. "I'm going to be late for breakfast! And Amber said she'd reveal the theme to her party then!"

Gathering up her skirts, she dashed out of the sorcerer's tower, leaving the two animals to ponder her words.

"I think the little princess is rather naively optimistic," Rowena commented.

" **You have no idea,** " Wormwood deadpanned.

"There's no way he could be thinking of ways to break Beca's curse. Not without knowing how it happened."

" **Oh, you'd be surprised.** "

Rowena glanced curiously at the raven.

" **Yes, Princess Sofia is ridiculously optimistic, but she's amazingly mature for her years, as well,** " he admitted. " **And she actually knows Cedric rather well. It's astounding how easily she can get into his head. I would not be surprised if Cedric is actually looking up weather curses now. Because he is very stubborn, and is probably going to see how much he can do about Lady Rebecca's curse without speaking to her.** " He chuckled a bit. " **It's probably the only way he can think of to save face without apologizing.** "

Rowena hissed. "Oh, no. That sorcerer _will_ apologize to her, one way or another."

But for the first time in many months, the krait had hope. Perhaps, soon, Rebecca will enjoy the sunshine with her.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks everyone, for all the reviews and faves and follows! Now that Sofia and Rowena have met, how will this help Rebecca? What is Cedric thinking? And what happened to Rebecca?_


	5. Clouds of Gloom

Cedric was pouring through enormous volumes, dusty from disuse. He had never thought he would have to study these old textbooks again, at least not until he was much older and more senile. But then, he also had never thought he would see Rebecca again.

Thinking about the ginger lady caused a wave of regret to fill him. Seeing Rebecca angry was one thing, but seeing her cry was another matter entirely. He silently cursed his actions from last night. The serpent was right: his foolish pride took hold of him, and it had probably cost him a friend. One of the few he had.

He could not bring himself to chase after her last night. After what he had said and done, he did not deserve her forgiveness, and he could not find it in him to even ask for it. But perhaps he could figure out her curse with what little he knew, and the next time he saw her… _if_ he ever did… he could break it, and _then_ ask for forgiveness.

But it was proving very difficult. True, not many curses held the specific result of a storm cloud cast over the cursed for an eternity, but it did not help that he had no idea whether it was a spell specifically targeting Rebecca or a cursed object she touched, or even something she ate. Another possibility was that the curse, if cast, was a custom made one, in which case, it could be very simple to break, or extremely difficult, depending on the magical abilities of the caster.

A loud crash resounded throughout the palace, causing the sorcerer to jump and drop his huge book. As the echo faded away, another wave of misery swept over him, as he was reminded of the crashing thunder that now followed Rebecca wherever she went.

Cedric let out a sigh, as the clouds of his gloom filled the room. It did not look like he would be seeing the warmth of Rebecca's smile any time soon.

* * *

 _A/N: Don't worry, I didn't write this after months of inactivity, and I'm not going to leave you hanging with all this. I actually wrote this shortly after I published the last chapter, but I didn't want to leave you hanging... Cuz it's short. Anyhoo, in a couple hours, there's going to be another chapter._


	6. Concluding Revelation

Rowena had done her best to follow the young princess's advice. Instead of nagging at the moronic sorcerer, she would hold her tongue and merely sit in the shadows. However, she made absolute sure that every time he went into the workroom, she was in his line of sight, hoping that whenever he saw her, he would remember what he _should_ be doing.

It did not seem to be working. It had been a few days since Rebecca had stormed out, and Rowena was getting worried. Because there was something that neither she nor Beca had told Cedric. And with each day Rowena was not at her friend's side, she was certain that it would only get worse.

Cedric burst into his workroom, muttering incomprehensibly, and headed straight for his desk. Under the two animals' watchful eyes, he opened a large book, and flipped through the pages until he came upon the spell he apparently was looking for.

"Okay, now just to make sure…" he murmured. Then, he pointed a wand at an empty vial, and chanted, " _Doppler duplicato!_ " A wavy beam of light shot out from the tip, and with an explosion of sparkles, a copy of the vial slid next to the original.

"Very good," Cedric praised himself, "but what of living objects?"

"What are you doing?" Rowena finally asked.

"Well, I can't be holed up in my room all the time," Cedric told her. "It may not happen often, but eventually, King Roland will ask for my abilities. If I copy myself, I can have one of me perform the duties of a Royal Sorcerer, and the other can… well, do whatever I want! Why am I explaining myself to you?" he ended with a huff.

Behind his back, Wormwood smirked. _'Still too stubborn to admit that he is actually trying to help his old friend?'_

"But before I can even attempt to perform the spell on myself, I should make sure that it is safe to use on other live creatures." He cast a glance at the krait on the floor.

Rowena tensed. "Sorcerer, if you even _think_ of casting that on _me_ , you'll be so pumped full of venom you won't _need_ an antidote!"

Cedric sneered. "Why would I duplicate you? As if I need two of _you_ around. No, I'm thinking of someone more… loyal."

" **Oh, no,** " the raven said, before pushing off of his perch.

Cedric whirled around, pointing at where his winged companion _should_ have been, reciting his spell, and consequently duplicating the tall perch. When he realized he missed his intended target, he seethed, "Wormwood, what are you doing?"

" **Saving my feathers,** " came the reply, " **I don't need you to test your crazy spells on me!** "

"Wormwood, let me do this!"

" **I don't think so!** " With that, he began to fly around the workroom, doing his best to avoid the multiple shots fired at him.

At that point, the door to the rest of the castle opened, and a maid carrying a tray walked in. "Good morning, Mr. Cedric! I've brought you your- Whoa!"

Wormwood took advantage of the open door, and zipped right out.

"Wormwood, you get back here!" Cedric cried, giving chase.

The poor maid stood in a daze, staring after the sorcerer. "I'll just put this here then, right?" she said weakly, placing the tray on on the desk. Seconds later, she left, leaving the reptile alone in the tower.

"Well," she muttered, "I suppose I should be grateful that he's trying _something_ for Beca."

Rowena settled herself in the shade some more, thinking about her human companion.

 _"Beca, are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"_

 _The ginger had rolled her eyes with a smile. "Thanks, Ro, but I can talk to the guy. I'm sure it's just crazy rumors and he'll tease me for believing them. But something this serious has to be cleared up before they get too out of hand."_

 _"I don't know, Beca," Rowena had said cautiously. "He doesn't taste right…"_

 _"You also said that about Uncle, but that's just 'cause he wanted me to trade you for a cat."_

 _"I'll never know why, cats are evil."_

 _Rebecca had just laughed at her friend's words. "I'll be back before the sun goes down, Ro, and everything will be fine."_

"But it wasn't…" Rowena sighed, back in the present. "I should have been with you then, and I should be with you now…"

She felt footsteps coming up the stairs, vibrations traveling through the stone no matter how softly the maker tried to tread. _'Hmm, a child, and… a rabbit, perhaps?'_

The door slowly opened, and Princess Sofia peeked into the room, a fluffy bunny close behind her. She caught sight of the wall of wands across from her immediately, and brightened up. She shoved a stool up to the wall and grabbed at the the second one up. "Now maybe I _can_ be in two places at once!" she cried triumphantly.

The rabbit looked at her quizzically. " **How?** "

"I'll make a copy of myself with Mr. Cedric's spell so that I could go to the dance, and my copy can play with Joy. That way, my dad's happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy!"

The rabbit nodded enthusiastically. " **I like it!** " he cried. Then he noticed the wand was pointed at him, and he gently guided it away, saying, " **But that sounds like a tricky spell, especially for someone who's not a sorcerer.** "

Sofia thought for a second. "You're right, maybe I should practice it first."

The rabbit hopped up on the stool. " **That's just what I'm saying! You gotta test it out on…** " he looked around for a potential test subject. His ears perked up when he saw a perfect -and delicious- candidate on the breakfast tray the maid had left. " **This apple!** "

"Good idea!" Sofia praised.

Rowena stayed silent, curious to see if she could pull it off. Maybe, if she were capable, the princess could be the one to help Rebecca. She watched as the princess carefully aimed the borrowed wand at the fruit, with a look of determined concentration.

" **Doppler duplicato!** " she chanted, and the force of the spell caused her to fly back with a cry of surprise.

Rowena lifted her head in wonder as a form began to take shape and slide next to the juicy red apple. But it was quickly lowered in disappointment when she realized that it was not a perfect copy.

The rabbit sniffed the fruit cautiously. " **That's funny,** " he commented. " **It's pink, but it looks just as delicious! I think you got it, Princess! But," he added slyly, "we may need to make four or five more, just to make sure!** "

Sofia giggled. "Sorry, Clover, I don't have much time. Here goes!" She raised the wand and pointed it at herself.

"I wouldn't," Rowena called out.

Sofia and Clover both jumped at the sound of the new voice, and the rabbit positively leapt onto the desk once the krait slid into view.

" **Snake! There's a snake! Watch out, Sof!** "

"It's okay, Clover, this is Rowena," Sofia explained, walking closer to the reptile to show the bunny everything was fine. "She a friend of Mr. Cedric's."

"More like a friend of a friend," Rowena corrected. "And chill out, rabbit, you're far too big for my tastes."

" **What's that supposed to mean?** " Clover demanded.

"Simple, my jaw wouldn't stretch far enough to swallow you, so you're safe from me. Unless, of course," she added, with an evil glint in her eye, "you make me mad enough to bite." She smiled in satisfaction when she saw the furry creature shudder before turning back to the child, and repeating, "I wouldn't do that."

"Do what?" asked the princess.

"Cast that spell on yourself." Rowena nodded to the pink apple. "It's not a perfect match, so something went wrong."

"But, except for the color, it looks perfect," Sofia argued.

"Yes, _except_ for the color," the krait agreed. "But that's enough of a hint. Trust me, Beca's messed up enough Alteration spells for me to learn the signs. If it doesn't seem absolutely perfect at first glance, it's not, so try again. And again and again. You see those two vials on the sorcerer's desk?" She gave the other two a moment to study the glass bottles. "This morning, there was only one. But you can't tell which one's the original, right?"

"She's right, Clover…" the princess agreed, hesitation clear on her face. She glanced outside, and at the doll she brought in. "But I don't have time."

" **Well, Sof,** " the blue-ribbon bunny began, " **the way I see it, the outside will just be a little pink. So she's not a perfect carbon copy, so what? The point is, she'll look enough like you to fool Lady Joy and her dad, and you can still go to the hoe-down.** "

"Hootenanny," Sofia corrected. "And I guess you're right. Maybe it'll just be my outfit that will change?" she added hopefully.

Rowena sighed, and simply slithered away, deciding to bask in the sun once more. It was only Rebecca she was obligated to help, guide, and learn from; if the princess wished to play 'sorceress' to get out of her duties, then she will have to deal with the consequences on her own. Rowena had warned her. Twice. She had done more than her part.

"All right," Sofia said with determination. " **Doppler duplicato!** "

A bright flash of light, and a second Princess Sofia, wearing a pink dress, appeared next the first.

Rowena's tongue flicked out instinctively, and she immediately shuddered. The air was filled with the taste of _wrong_. She slowly slid back into the shadows, planning to see and not be _seen_. After a short comedic introduction and a quick explanation, Princess Sofia left the tower.

" **Have fun, kid!** " Clover called out before taking a bite out of the pink apple. His face contorted into a grimace before spitting out the fruit. " **This is rotten!** " he declared with disgust.

"Uh-huh, just like me!" Sofia the Copy declared, an evil glint in her eye.

Rowena stayed still, poised to fight or flee, whichever would be in her best interest. She silently watched as the rotten princess scooped up the bunny and plopped him into a birdcage hanging in the rafters. She would not even allow him the good apple, snatching it away from him and waving it in his face before exiting the room to cause havoc in the castle.

"I told her not to," Rowena said faux-casually as she slid into sight once more. "Twice."

" **Yeah, yeah, we should've listened,** " Clover sullenly muttered. Then his ears perked up and he swiveled to look at the snake. " **But never mind that now! You gotta go out there and warn the real Sofia!** "

"Rabbit."

" **Clover.** "

"Whatever. I don't know this castle. I've only been here a few days, and the only rooms I've seen are the kitchens and this one. I don't know the route to anywhere. How am I to find the princess and warn her?"

" **Well then how about you go find Cedric and get him to fix this bad apple situation?** "

"If I can't find the princess, what makes you think I'll find the sorcerer?"

" **Just follow the stench of incompetence, and I'm sure you'll find him.** "

If Rowena had brows, one would have been raised. She had seen firsthand the sorcerer's irritating personality and failure at social cues. But, his magical ability seemed competent enough. Why the certainty in his incapability for magic? Certainly, he seemed better than Rebecca, and that was very hard to admit, even in her own head.

" **Actually, just follow the sounds of frustrated screaming, frightened bird calls, and the tons of duplicated objects in the hall.** "

"Fine, I'll find the sorcerer and let him know what's going on. Maybe he'll fix the princess's mistake before anyone notices."

" **And, maybe, get someone to get me out of here? Please?** "

Rowena regarded him silently. "I'll see what I can do." She slipped underneath the crack under the door, and started slowly tumbling down the stairs.

Once she reached the bottom, she began to taste the air for an idea where to find the sorcerer. Although, the rabbit was right; she only had to follow the mess of copied objects. Staying close to the walls and keeping out of sight - she did _not_ need a maid scared out of her wits at this moment - she followed the chaos, and soon could hear the squawks and shrieks that the fluff-butt had mentioned.

Eventually, she came across the sorcerer standing alone in the hallways with eyes closed, shouting, "I wish for the Amulet of Avalor!" He opened his eyes with a look of expectancy, head swiveling around in search of something. A pause and a blink later, he muttered in disbelief, "Did Princess Sofia just… trick me?"

"What's the Amulet of Avalor?" Rowena asked as she slithered next to him.

The sorcerer yelped and jumped about a foot in the air at her voice. "What are you doing down here?" he demanded to know. "You're going to get me in trouble if anyone sees you!"

Rowena decided to ignore the question. "Did you see a pink clad princess a few moments ago?" she asked instead.

"Yes, I did," Cedric muttered. "I must say, even though the princess does have a playful and mischievous side, I've never known her to be so…"

"Rotten?" the snake supplied.

"Well, that's a word for it, I suppose."

"It's not the princess you know," she said flatly.

Cedric blinked in confusion. "Pardon?"

"Apparently, this princess is not always as mature as I've been told. She attempted a duplicating spell on herself and she ended up creating an evil clone."

Cedric straightened up. "Are you telling me, _Princess Sofia_ snuck into my tower, used one of _my_ spells to get out of duties, and now she has a doppelganger running loose about the castle?"

"Yep. And there's a bunny caged up in your tower, too. He'd like out ASAP."

"The Princess of Goody-goodies did something such as _that?_ "

"Yes, try to keep up."

"I find that hard to believe," the sorcerer declared, crossing his arms.

"She's an eight-year-old child, human!" Rowena snapped. "Children are selfish at times, and make mistakes because of that. The princess wished to go to some village dance, and saw an opportunity to do so without breaking some promise to her father. But, again, _child_. She botched up the spell, and now I'm certain things are not going to go well for her."

Cedric hummed in thought. "If that was the copy of the princess, I suppose that explains her apparent willingness to easily part with her amulet… Hmm, and the change in her usual attire." He gave a sigh. "Of course, it'd be too simple if it were really her. I should've known something was up immediately… How did I miss that?"

Rowena's patience was wearing thin. "Hey! Are you going to do something about it, or are you going to just stand there and mutter like an overwrought nanny?"

"Yes, of course I'll do something!" Cedric snapped. "If I don't, I'm bound to be blamed for an evil princess prancing about!"

Wormwood called out from a hallway table. " **Tell him he'd better do something about all this clutter as well, then, before someone breaks their neck tripping over everything.** "

Rowena glared at the raven. "Don't think of me as your translator, feather head. I won't always pass along your little messages. He says you'd best get rid of the other junk before it kills someone."

"Yes, yes, of course," the sorcerer said distractedly. Still inside his own head, he began walking back towards the tower, pointing at duplicated objects and removing them from existence as he went along.

"Did the spell become a disaster because it was cast improperly, or because it was cast on a live object?" he suddenly asked.

"I don't know," Rowena replied, slithering beside him. "She had cast it on an apple before, and that was rotten as well."

"Hmm, yes, well the apple did indeed used to be alive," Cedric muttered to himself. "Perhaps I ought to try that myself, first."

" **Well, that would have been a wonderful idea nearly an hour ago!** " Wormwood huffed.

As soon as Cedric returned to his tower, he freed Clover from his tiny prison, and began to brainstorm on how to lure the fake princess to her demise.

"Maybe I can tempt her with a cupcake," he surmised. "All little girls like cupcakes."

"I don't think this particular little girl cares what you'll offer her, she'll just throw it back in your face," Rowena deadpanned. "Why not just go look for her, and then cast the counter-spell?"

"This is a rather large castle," Cedric snapped. "I'd rather not search for hours on end when she could be anywhere doing who knows what! Now, if I were an evil, prankster princess, where would I be?"

" **Possibly doing the worst possible damage,** " Wormwood muttered. " **Making a fool of yourself in front of the king.** "

"What did he say?" Cedric asked Rowena.

"I am not an animal translator!" Rowena hissed. "But he said you probably be at the king's side, doing damage."

Cedric's eyes lit up. "Of course! Near King Roland, it would be easy to paint Princess Sofia as horrible, which is just what a doppleganger was _made_ to do!"

With that, he rushed outside of his workshop, leaving the two animals companions alone together.

"So, what's the Amulet of Avalor?" Rowena asked.

" **No idea,** " replied Wormwood.

After nearly an hour of silence, Cedric returned, looking rather fatigued. "I ended up having to chase her all around the castle," he complained. "I hadn't run that much since I was a student. Fortunately, the princess herself was there to own up to her mistakes, and King Roland didn't blame me for anything."

Rowena almost spluttered. But she did manage to say, "She owned up? Admitted her mistake? A little child swallowed any shame she would have, and took full blame?"

Cedric narrowed his eyes at the krait. "It's not so hard to believe," he said. "A child she may be, but the princess had proven time and time again that her age belies her maturity."

"And what does that say about you?!" Rowena shrieked. "A grown man who refuses to talk to an old classmate in need due to a misunderstanding? Beca is out there, suffering from depression and nightmares, and now she's all alone with no one to comfort her! If you actually plan on helping her, talk to her! She had said that knowing the story would-"

"Did you say nightmares?" Cedric interrupted.

Rowena snapped her mouth shut, before grudgingly replying, "Yes, ever since she came home cursed, she's had frequent nightmares. She'd be too scared to tell me what they were about, but-"

"Rebecca's only ever had nightmares after…" Cedric muttered to himself, clearly not listening to the snake. "Oh, Finnegan's Fungus… this is not good. I've got to break that spell!"


End file.
